


Tall People Problems

by ashensprites



Category: IZONE (Band)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, One Shot Collection, nakjin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2020-07-29 07:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20078332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashensprites/pseuds/ashensprites
Summary: A collection of one-shots about Nako's ships with resident giants Yujin & Wonyoung.





	1. Tall People Shouldn't Be Scared Of Heights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nako drags an unwilling Yujin onto a cable car.

Nako is astonishingly strong for someone of her stature, Yujin thinks as she clings to a fence. The smaller girl is tugging on her shirt, heels firmly planted into the ground as she yanks and yanks. Yujin swears she can feel her shirt tearing in Nako's monstrous grip.

"Nako, you're going to tear my shirt off."

"If that's what it takes, then so be it!" Nako huffs. Her eyebrows are tightly knit as she summons all of her strength in her 4-foot-11 body.

"Ripping my clothes off will not change my mind," Yujin insists.

"I don't know why you think that's an appropriate sentence for someone your age," Nako grumbles, "but you are going on this damn cable car with me, whether you want it or not."

Yujin spares a glance behind her. Looming over the small figure of Nako is one of her greatest fears: the cable car. When their managers had announced that they had a couple of free days after their Hong Kong concert, Yujin was estatic. To her, this meant eating everything in sight and buying some cute accessories for her tiny partner-in-crime, one Yabuki Nako. She had imagined traipsing through bustling city streets and inhaling egg tarts, not... This.

"Nako, please, I can't." Yujin hates how her voice has taken on a pleading, whiny tone. She heaves a sigh in relief when the hands clutching at her shirt relax their grip for a moment.

"Does it make sense that a tall person is scared of heights?" Nako appears in front of her, pouting and putting on her best hurt-puppy look. How Yujin wants to reach out and pinch her cheeks and wipe away the pout from Nako's face. So she does, foolish and naive as she is, releasing her hold on the fence to place her hands on Nako's cheeks.

In a flash Nako grabs Yujin by the wrists and drags her towards a waiting cable car. Yujin immediately realises her mistake and squirms in Nako's grasp. She knows she's fighting a losing battle; god knows how much muscle mass Nako has put on just from exercising with Eunbi. She yelps as she is shoved into a gondola, lunging for the closing door as Nako gracefully slides in and sits down. Yujin drums her fists on the glass doors in a panic, but the cable car assistant has suddenly gone wonderfully deaf and blind.

As the gondola takes off from the ground, Yujin slumps to the ground. She glares at Nako, who wears a triumphant grin on her face. "Evil," Yujin mutters.

"Chicken," Nako retaliates. She lights up as they leave the station, pressing her face against the window to stare at the landscape below. Yujin quietly thinks Nako's wide eyes make her too cute for words. She'd never admit this to Nako, but as she sees the way Nako gasps and points in wonder at every little thing she spots, she's actually pretty happy that Nako's dragged her to this hellish place if it means she could watch the older girl fall in love with the world.

That is until Nako jabs a finger at the floor. "Yujin, look!" Yujin looks down instinctively and starts to have a mental breakdown -- the floor is made of glass. She can see trees, people walking under their feet, even buildings.

"Ohfuckno-" Yujin scrambles to her feet and attempts to get herself as far away from the floor as possible. She curls up in one of the seats, tucking her head between her knees and squeezes her eyes shut. "How far more? Dear god, how far more?"

"Yujin, it's a 25-minute ride. We literally just left a minute ago." As excited as Nako is, she does now feel bad for dragging Yujin along. It just never occurred to her that a giant -- to her eyes, at least -- could be afraid of heights. Putting her excitement away for now, she sits down next to Yujin and takes the terrified girl's hands. "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm not listening, I'm not looking up, don't do anything, don't talk to me until this damn thing is over and we are on the ground please and thank you."

"Yujin." Nako shuffles over a little bit more and wraps the trembling girl in a warm embrace. She rubs Yujin's arm in encouragement. "It'll be fine. Just listen to my voice. I'm here with you."

Yujin just buries her head further into the crook of Nako's neck. She mumbles something incoherent as she reciprocrates the hug. Sighing, Nako looks around them, trying her best to appreciate the view for the both of them. Might as well one out of two girls take something good away from this experience, she thinks.

They remain in the same position for a good number of minutes until the gondola jerks to a stop. Yujin's head flies up and she quickly scans their surroundings. "Are we here?"

"Um..." Nako peeks at the glass floor. From what she can tell, they are well above a forest of some sort. "No? I think we're halfway there though, does that count?"

"Then why did we stop?" Yujin complains. She freezes in Nako's arms. "Oh shit, what if the cable car has broken down?"

"That's not going to happen," Nako assures her.

"Well, you don't know that! What if we're stuck here forever?" Yujin's eyes have grown wide and wild. She grabs Nako's shoulders and starts shaking her.

"Can you, like, not?" Nako wrestles Yujin away. Their violent movements cause the gondola to sway dangerously at the top of the cable car line.

"Did you feel that?" Yujin whispers.

Nako gulps. "No," she lies. She cups Yujin's face in her hands and stares into her eyes. "Look at me, dumbass. You need to calm down. Follow me and take deep breaths. In, and out. In, and out."

Yujin inhales and exhales, following Nako's pace, until she feels her heart stop racing a little.

"Okay?" Nako asks again.

"Maybe." Yujin huffs out a breath at Nako's raised brow. "Okay."

As they wait out the cable car, Nako lets her head drop into her hands. "God knows why Wonyo recommended this to me," she mutters under her breath. "She said you'd like it."

"Wonyo?" Yujin narrows her eyes. "Jang Wonyoung, my labelmate, the one who I basically shared my childhood with and knows my greatest fears, told you that I'd like to ride a cable car?"

"Well, she told me that we'd enjoy ourselves here, yes."

Yujin shakes her head, disappointed. What was their youngest member thinking?

Exhausted, Nako crosses her arms and closes her eyes. "God, I'm so tired. Let's just go to sleep, I'll wake you up when we reach the ground."

It's Yujin's turn to feel bad. _Fuck it_, she thinks, and takes a risk. Without jostling the gondola too much, she pulls Nako onto her lap. Propping her chin on Nako's shoulder, she tries to dial up her charm to eleven. "If Wonyoung said we'd enjoy ourselves here somehow, then she must have thought of something. Right?"

_Don't think about where you are, don't think about where you are_, Yujin tells herself. Her arms snake around Nako's waist. "Like this?"

Nako shakes her head. "I'm not getting it."

Yujin tilts her head and places a light peck on Nako's collarbone. "How 'bout this?"

Nako fights the grin that threatens to bloom across her face. "Mm, not really working for me," she says as she leans back, giving Yujin more access to her neck.

"How about..."

Neither of them realise when the gondola starts to move again, but later that night, both girls individually head to Wonyoung's bedroom to thank her and agree that yes, they did in fact enjoy themselves during the cable car ride, and no, Yujin will not be riding the damned thing again.


	2. Tall People Should Block The Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yujin is the perfect shade for Nako in the summer.

Summer in Seoul was one thing. Summer in Tokyo was another. Either way, Nako can't wait for winter to arrive. Slumped on the couch in their apartment, one arm dangling from the edge, the other shielding her eyes from the blinding sun filtering in through the window, she heaves a sigh. The fan circulating hot air around the room does nothing to make her feel better. She wonders briefly whether this is what it would be like to be reincarnated as a snowman. She feels herself slipping away, falling asleep to the monotonous drone of the fan...

And is startled awake when a large body collapses on top of hers. Judging by the way their legs are tangled and how she is currently suffocating in someone's chest, it can only be one person. "Ahn Yujin," Nako gasps, "are you actually trying to kill me?"

"No, I'm waking you up!" Nako opens one bleary eye to see Yujin grinning at her. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"No." Nako closes her eyes again, willing the gods to take this giant embodiment of a human pup away from her. Isn't she allowed to just sleep the whole summer away?

"You can't just sleep the whole summer away!" Yujin whines, squirming on top of Nako. Wrapping her long arms around the small girl, Yujin rolls them around the couch as she tries to get Nako's attention. As she shifts around, she slips off the side of the couch and falls back-first onto the floor, with Nako landing on top of her.

"Fuck!" Yujin exclaims, rubbing the back of her head.

"Language," Eunbi reminds her as she walks past the living room. "Nako, take the giant puppy out for a walk, won't you?"

Nako sighs. That was her one fatal flaw: she just could never say no to Eunbi. Pursing her lips, she opens her eyes to glare at a beaming Yujin. "We better be getting ice cream." At Yujin's excited nod, she continues: "Mint chocolate ice cream."

"Fuck," Yujin repeats under her breath.

It quickly becomes clear to even Yujin that leaving the house on this kind of blistering hot day is a bad idea. Despite being dressed in a breathable cotton tee and the shortest shorts she could find, she is sweating buckets as they trudge the short distance from their apartment to the nearby ice cream shop. Next to her, Nako huffs and puffs as she jogs to catch up with Yujin's long strides. 

The taller girl spots their destination first. "Last one pays for the ice cream!" she shouts as she made a mad dash into the air-conditioned shop. Rolling her eyes, Nako slowly drags herself into the shop. Yujin is waiting for her expectantly, two cups of ice cream already in hand. She tilts her head, nodding at the cashier. Shaking her head, Nako pulls out her wallet to pay.

Once Nako has put away her wallet, Yujin offers one of the cups to Nako. "This is yours."

Nako peers into the cup and nods in approval -- a double scoop of mint chocolate. She smirks at Yujin. "I thought you didn't like mint chocolate."

"Yeah, but I know what you like, so," Yujin says, shrugging. She digs into her own cup, a mix of vanilla and green tea. An euphoric look comes over her face at the first bite. Is this what heaven feels like?

She glances down when Nako tugs at her sleeve. "I want to try yours," she demands. Offering a spoonful to Nako, Yujin fights back a grin when Nako opens her mouth like a baby bird waiting to be fed. She wants to squeal at the way her fellow member's eyes widen upon tasting the flavoursome ice cream. Honestly, Yujin thinks to herself, Nako is really too cute for words.

"Here." Nako scoops out a large spoonful of her mint chocolate ice cream and shoves it into Yujin's open mouth. The taller girl is forced to swallow it, shivering in distaste once she is sure it had completely gone down her throat.

"Why did you do that?" Yujin complains, making a face. She quickly shovels more green tea ice cream into her mouth to get rid of the overpowering flavour of mint.

Nako bats her eyelashes flirtatiously, knowing well enough that her partner has rather strong opinions about her favourite ice cream flavour. "Equal exchange?" she teases, cackling and rushing out of the store at Yujin's annoyed frown.

According to Yujin's schedule that she spontaneously created while waiting at a traffic light, their next stop is the Han River. "Yujin, you can't swim there, you know," Nako reminds her, spotting a particularly keen glint in the taller girl's eyes.

"That wasn't my plan at all!" Yujin insists. _So much for that idea_, she grumbles internally.

"Sure, sure." Nako wisely takes Yujin by the arm and steers them a couple of steps away from the river. "Let's just take a quick walk around before going home, okay?"

Strolling along the riverbank is actually a really good idea on this summer day. Nako finds herself giggling at Yujin's ridiculous antics and the silly stories she tells while they walk. Occasionally they spot a couple of kids playing football, or a dad teaching his daughter how to ride a bike. Of course, this being the Han River, they also spot a few couples having picnics -- or attempting to hide behind trees as they make out. Nako jumps to attention at that, trying to cover Yujin's eyes before she notices.

The problem here is that Yujin is much taller than she is, and so it is basically impossible for Nako to cover her eyes. Besides, Yujin had spotted them first, and gives Nako a cheeky wink. "Do you want to-"

"No!" Nako screeches, just a bit too loudly.

Yujin sighs and shakes her head. "Get your head out of the gutter, girl. What I meant to say was, do you want to walk the other side of me?" She exchanges places with Nako before the older girl can answer.

"Why?" Nako furrows her eyebrows in confusion. The reason soon becomes apparent when she realises she is standing in Yujin's shadow, blocked from the harsh sunlight. She looks up at Yujin's flustered face, angled away so Nako cannot see her blush.

"Ah~" Nako leans against Yujin's frame. "Where did this charm come from?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Yujin blusters, her face becoming redder and redder as she feels Nako cling onto her arm. She fans herself with her shirt, avoiding Nako's eyes. "Wow, summer's really hot, huh?"

Nako laughs; it is a childish kind of laugh that lightens Yujin's heart. "It sure is," she agrees, taking Yujin's hand and interlocking their fingers together. Yujin's breath hitches at the action, and she covers her mouth with her free hand to stop the heady, lovesick giggle that threatens to burst out.

After a while, their hands become pretty sweaty -- it is still summer, after all -- but they never let go.


	3. Tall People Are Not Gods (but we could try to be)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a certain Once is heartbroken after she learns of her favourite idol's dating news, and it's up to the resident giants to make her feel better.

Wonyoung wakes up to quiet sniffling in a dimly-lit room. Confused, she sits up, trying to discern the source of the sound. She leans over the railing of her bed, checking on the girl on the bottom bunk of their bed. It's empty. Wonyoung quickly checks the time: 8 in the morning. That makes sense then, she thinks, Sakura must be having breakfast with Chaeyeon outside. The bed across from Sakura's is usually inhabited by a sleeping Yuri, but Wonyoung recalls that Yuri snuck off last night to, in Yuri's words, "hang out" with Yena in the other dorm, although Wonyoung knows exactly what she means by "hanging out". Thank goodness they've decided to spend their couple time in the other dorm; Wonyoung has lost count of how many times she's walked into the sickly-sweet couple making out, or even worse, cuddling while saying stupidly cheesy things to each other, lost in their own world.

Wonyoung shivers at the memory.

That leaves the girl across from her: all-time small bean, Yabuki Nako. Where the girl should be Wonyoung only sees a blanket burrito. No, she thinks, burritos are long -- this is round and tiny. This is a blanket dumpling if she's ever seen one. Wonyoung watches as the figure hidden under the blanket shifts around, pausing only to throw out a crumpled tissue.

"Nako?" Wonyoung tries. The blanketed figure freezes. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," the girl squeaks out. She must be trying really hard not to show she's been crying, Wonyoung realises. She doesn't usually do this, not even when Chaeyeon or Eunbi come to rouse her for school, but sometimes, some people were worth getting out of a warm bed for. She climbs out, and stretching her long legs, easily steps over to the ladder on the other bed. Clinging onto Nako's bed, she pokes the blanket. It squirms away from her.

"Nako, what's wrong?" Wonyoung asks. She tries to tug the blanket away from Nako, but the smaller girl has a death grip, refusing to let anyone look at her.

"Nothing," Nako replies, sniffling. "Go away, Wonyo."

Wonyoung draws her face into a pout. "If you're not going to tell me, I'm going to tell everyone else that you're crying."

She counts down from ten as Nako contemplates the mortification that would follow such an event. At five, Nako's head pokes out. Wonyoung can feel her heart tremble at the sight of red-rimmed, teary eyes and messy bed hair. Reaching out, she wipes away the tear rolling down Nako's cheek. "Do you want me to get you more tissues?"

Nako nods. Wonyoung jumps down and grabs their box of tissue from the dresser, then leaves it on Nako's bed. "Wanna tell me what's wrong?"

Nako sighs, rubbing her eyes. "It's nothing. Just me being silly, really."

Wonyoung crosses her arms and looks up at Nako. "I'll be the judge of that."

Nako sighs again. "Have you seen the news?"

"Um." Wonyoung scratches her head. "I just woke up, so... nope."

"Then-"

"Nako!" A giant ball of energy bursts through their door and beelines for Nako's bed. Wonyoung immediately moves to block her best friend from attacking her roommate. "Have you seen the news?" Yujin pants as she attempts to climb over Wonyoung.

Nako goes back to hiding under her blanket. Wonyoung shoots Yujin a dirty look. _You life-ruiner_, the look says. Yujin quickly adapts her apologetic puppy face. "She has, but I haven't. What's up?"

Yujin whips out her phone and shoves it into Wonyoung's face. Wonyoung scans the headline of the top news article. "Twice's Jihyo and Kang Daniel are dating, have been meeting since early this year."

_Oh._

She exchanges glances with Yujin; they are both feeling a mixture of pity and bemusement. Communicating with their eyes, they both try to figure out how to broach this subject. 

_You go first,_ Yujin's gaze says.

_You're older. You go first,_ Wonyoung's eyes say in retaliation.

A staring battle ensues until the bedroom door bursts open yet again. "Nako!" Yena's overly-cheerful voice chirps as she caroms in. Both young giants turn to glare at the intruder.

"Read the room, Yena," Wonyoung snaps.

"Get out, Yena," Yujin orders.

"Oh, Yena." Yuri grabs her girlfriend by the wrist and pulls her out before any damage can be done.

Once they're in the clear, Yujin turns back to the older girl still in hiding. "She's gone, Nako, you can come out now." Wonyoung pulls a face at the uncharacteristically gentle voice that Yujin is using. Her expression turns into a sulk when Nako allows Yujin to pull the covers off her. Not fair.

"Do you want a hug?" Wonyoung offers before Yujin could jump in. Wiping her nose with the back of her hand, Nako nods timidly. Wonyoung leaps into Nako's bed and wraps her arms around the small girl, holding her tightly as they sway together. Over Nako's head, Wonyoung throws a triumphant smile at Yujin.

"Excuse you, pups are better during sad times," Yujin insists, clambering into the bed as well and snuggling up to Nako. She lays her head on Nako's lap, staring up at Nako's face with eyes as wide as she can make them and her most disarming smile. It works like a charm; Nako pats Yujin's head before leaning down to give her a quick peck on her forehead.

"Gross," Wonyoung whines. Nako turns to kiss the youngest on her cheek. Wonyoung breaks into the biggest, silliest grin she's ever had on her face.

"Hypocrite," Yujin mumbles. Wonyoung slaps her on the shoulder as light pink dusts her cheeks. Nako giggles at their antics, and they turn to focus on her.

"Feeling better?" they ask simultaneously.

Nako nods. "All thanks to you two."

"Nako." Yujin rolls around onto her stomach and takes one of Nako's hands in hers. She looks at Nako dead in the eye, trying to be as serious as she possibly can. "I know Wonyo and I are still young, and we aren't anything like the one and only God Jihyo."

Wonyoung knows where Yujin is headed, and holds Nako's other hand in hers too. "But we could try to be, for you. Because we love you."

Fighting back a shy grin, Nako glances down at their intertwined hands. Both Wonyoung's and Yujin's hands are much bigger than Nako's, befitting of their size difference. She can't help but feel bad at how she, the oldest one among the three of them, seems to always be taken care of by the two youngest members of their team, knowing full well that it really should be the other way round. She feels guilt, but also gratitude; and above all, an overwhelming feeling of love for her two giants.

"Hm?" Yujin reaches up to wipe away at Nako's tears. "You're crying again. Did we do something wrong?"

"No, not at all." Nako gives them a brilliant smile. "I just can't believe that I have people as amazing and beautiful as the both of you in my life. You two don't need to change. I love you two just the way you are."

Wonyoung can feel tears welling up in her eyes at Nako's words. She quickly looks away so no one can catch her watery eyes. Yujin points at her, laughing. "Are you crying?" she teases through her own tears.

"Shut up, loser! You're crying too!" Wonyoung smacks Yujin's accusing finger away, and the two of them start to wrestle. Everything's just so silly, Nako thinks -- her unnecessary crying over her idol dating, and now these two were fake fighting because of her -- everything's so silly, and yet just right.

Peals of laughter echo throughout the room. Wonyoung and Yujin brighten up at the sound of Nako's lighthearted laugh, the very same one that they fell in love with all the way since filming Produce. Grinning, they disengage from each other and tackle her back down onto the mattress. They curl up so Nako fits perfectly between them, breathing heavily as they laugh, laughs that dissolve into slow, quiet breaths as they fall asleep.

Eunbi checks on them a while later to wake them up for their schedule. She smiles at the way their legs are tangled together, and notes that Yujin and Wonyoung have fallen asleep with each of them holding one of Nako's hands. Even noisy devils can turn into peaceful angels when left alone with someone they love, she thinks. 

Leaving the room, she shakes her head at an expectant Chaeyeon. "Let's leave them to sleep for just a while longer, shall we?"


	4. Tall People Growing Up, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a one-shot for Wonyoung's birthday!

It's been a long day, and Wonyoung couldn't be any happier. The first few minutes of her birthday were unexpectedly rowdy when the whole group invaded her room at midnight exactly, and it stayed that way almost constantly for the whole day. She had been showered with nothing but love - not that she wasn't already on a daily basis, what with her being the youngest of the group and all - and their rehearsals did nothing to hamper her joy.

Sitting on the bed now in her hotel room, she rewatches the recorded V-live with a soft smile. Her lips quiver when she reaches Chaeyeon's and Eunbi's wishes, knowing that at the time the latter was very close to crying while the former was just full-on crying. They really were acting like her parents, and it made her chuckle a bit. 

She's pretty sure they know she basically sees them as her parents, anyway. That's a silent agreement since day one, with a parent in each dorm to watch over the kids, although they often filtered in and out of each dorm just to hang out with each other and baby her to bits.

Plus, she'll never live down calling Eunbi 'mom' that one time during their arcade game.

Yujin was a tad shy during her message, but was there anything that really needed to be said? They had known each other for the longest time, spent their years training together, debuted together... They were soulmates, weren't they? And soulmates didn't need to communicate with words. Knowing glances, hands brushing against arms and waists, just realising that they would always be there to catch each other was more than enough.

But her biggest surprise had probably been finding out that the midnight surprise was Nako's idea. Wonyoung had been so afraid that she'd be alone in the hotel room, but Nako had it all planned out.

Of course she'd know, wouldn't she? It was Nako, after all. Nako, who could read her mind as easily as reading a children's book; Nako, who cared for her and offered her soothing pats and warm hugs in cold days; Nako, who knew all too well how hard it was carrying the burden of popularity at such a young age, and doing everything she could to make it easier on Wonyoung. 

Nako, who took her out this morning for an early breakfast and a slow walk, just the two of them in a park on a beautiful summer morning. Could they be any more in love?

"What're you watching?" a curious voice asks. Wonyoung lifts her head to catch Nako walking out of their bathroom, towel fluffing at wet hair, petite body in an oversized tee and shorts. 

Wonyoung lifts up her phone. "Today's V-live."

"Oh, when Chaeyeon started crying..." Nako clutches at her heart and squeezes her eyes shut, miming heartache.

Wonyoung laughs. "She's such a mom, isn't she?" 

"One might think she was the one who gave birth to you, even," Nako remarks as she pulls out a hairdryer. "She loves you so much. So does Eunbi."

"Please, I know you all love me." 

"You're absolutely right," Nako agrees without hesitation. Plugging in the hairdryer, she plops herself down and winks at Wonyoung. "But I love you the most."

Wonyoung's heart skips a beat at the smirk on Nako's face. She opens her mouth to tease Nako, maybe to even make her repeat her words again so Wonyoung can record them in her brain forever, but is interrupted by the jarring noise of the hairdryer. With a slight smile, she slides off the bed and walks over to where Nako is struggling to dry her long hair.

" Let me help you with that," Wonyoung offers, plucking the dryer from Nako's hands. She runs her fingers through Nako's dyed hair with the expertise of a professional hairdresser (she's been taking pointers from their stylist), undoing the knots that have taken root in Nako's hair, ignoring the knots in her stomach as Nako relaxes and leans back onto her calves.

They spend the next while like that, the only sound in the room the loud whirr of the hairdryer. This has always been one of those things Wonyoung has been reading in fanfics - yes, she does read fanfics, she's a 14, no, 15 year old with a very active imagination and ideals of loving and being in love - and this has taken one of her top spots in her imaginary list of 'Things I'd Like To Do With My Future Partner'. She loves the way Nako's head naturally tilts with her hand movement, as if even one second without her touch is a second too long. 

"I love you, Nako," Wonyoung blurts out. Nako doesn't respond, and she wonders whether her words have been swallowed up by the hairdryer. 

It's not until they're done and the hairdryer has been put away that Nako turns to her with a brilliant smile and eyes curved into crescents to say: "I love you too, Jang Wonyoung."

Wonyoung's breath catches in her throat. It's not the first time Nako's said that, and yet every time she does it seems to mean a lot more than the last, and lord! It's as if her feelings for Nako trace out an exponential graph and grows and grows until it goes off to infinity and can't be explained with even the most precise of words. 

And since actions speak louder than words, Wonyoung does the only thing she can do. Leaning down, she plants a quick kiss on Nako's cheek before burying her head in the smaller girl's neck out of embarrassment. Nako chuckles. Wonyoung can feel it where her nose and lips are pressed against Nako's neck, and her blush rushes through her face and into the tips of her ears. 

Nako pulls back and cups Wonyoung's face in her hands. "You're so cute," she giggles before pressing their lips together. It's soft and gentle and exactly right. 

They spend the rest of the night huddled in the same bed, flipping through random television channels and stealing pecks and kisses from one another. "Ahn Yujin's birthday is in a few hours," Wonyoung murmurs, glancing at her phone. 

Nako hums. "We'll have to get out of bed when the members come to pick us up for her midnight birthday surprise."

"But not now, right?" 

Nako snuggles into Wonyoung's side and looks up at her with eyes shining with adoration and love. "But not now," she quietly agrees as she tugs Wonyoung down for another kiss. 


	5. Tall People Growing Up, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another one-shot for yujin's birthday!

Coming back to the hotel from a long concert in Kobe, all Yujin wants to do is collapse on her bed and sleep the rest of the night away. Forget showering, forget removing makeup - just sleep. It isn't a crime to sleep the rest of her birthday away, and she'll fight anyone who argues otherwise.

So when she hears a calm knocking on her hotel room door, she's almost tempted to tune it out and hide under the duvet. 

But what if it was Eunbi, coming to finally claim her cheek kiss from today's birthday V-live? Yujin shudders at the thought. She's not kissing anyone. It's awkward and she's not the type to express herself like that. Let someone else do it. Eunbi knows how grateful Yujin is to her without all these acts of affection anyway. Yujin would follow her to the ends of the Earth, no questions asked, forever a loyal pup to her parent. 

What if it was Minjoo? Oh, now that is tempting. Imagine opening the door to a beautiful goddess. She thinks about drowning in quiet words that hold the grace and deliberation of a poet. She dreams of the times when Minju climbs down from her bunk back in their dorm on cold nights, climbs into her bed, wrapping long arms around necks and waists, frozen fingers dancing up her sides.

Maybe it was Wonyoung, even. Born exactly 365 days apart, Yujin had always thought of the younger girl as her other half, her better half. It was inevitable that they meet, for they would never have been more complete without the other. How could someone so young be so beautiful, so resilient and radiant under the brilliant stage lights? It's a struggle for Yujin to express her deeper emotions, her love and gratitude and everything to do with the strange organ beating in her chest, but especially so with Wonyoung. But the bunny-like girl would always understand, reading Yujin's mind almost too easily. They are soulmates; nothing will ever change that.

The knocking becomes louder, more frantic. "Alright, alright, I'm coming!" Yujin grumbles, hauling herself off the bed. Dragging herself across the room, she prepares to jump whoever dares to bother her tonight.

She opens the door to a banana.

Wait, what? 

Yujin rubs her eyes, and sure enough, there's a banana waiting for her on the floor. Confused, she picks it up to examine it. Yup, it's a banana all right.

"What the actual-" 

Nako slides into view, a cheeky grin on her face. She has another banana, holding it to her ear like a phone. "Is this Ahn Yujin?" she asks, expectant.

Yujin immediately plays along, placing the banana by her ear. "That's right. Can I help you?"

"I have a message for you," Nako announces, attempting a serious face. "It's from someone really special." 

"Oh?" Yujin tucks her hand into her pocket. "By any chance, is this special someone a short girl, about 20cm shorter than me, with dyed hair? You know, someone who's standing in front of me right now?"

Nako narrows her eyes at the height remark. "If you're going to keep being like that, I'm not going to deliver the message."

Yujin chuckles. "Fine, fine, I'll stop."

"Good."

They stand there for a while, two girls on either side of a doorway with bananas in their hands. It's kind of silly, this kind of scenario, isn't it? And yet it's so very them, playmates and friends and lovers of a sort, hearts attuned to the same wavelength. They gaze into each other's eyes, standing in comfortable silence, dimples growing on reddened cheeks.

"Ahn Yujin, thank you for being born," Nako starts quietly, and Yujin has to strain to hear her words. "Thank you for helping me whenever I needed help, thank you for always entertaining me, thank you for always making sure I'm happy and safe." 

Nako's breath hitches and she gives Yujin a soft smile. "Thank you, and I love you." 

Yujin surges forward and wraps Nako in the warmest, tightest hug she can give. She easily plucks the smaller girl off the ground, and Nako flings her arms around Yujin's neck. Spinning around, they laugh like children at the peak of puppy love, bananas forgotten on the floor. 

Yujin boosts Nako up, allowing Nako to wrap her legs around Yujin's waist and bring them into a gentle kiss. And suddenly all the exhaustion from the day is gone, a warmth filling Yujin's chest as she deepens the kiss greedily. The butterflies that emerged from their cocoons in her stomach during their very first kiss had never really left, and they flutter still at every smile, every hug, every kiss.

Yujin twirls them into the room, leg subtly closing the door behind her before they land onto the messy bed. When they part, she finds Nako on top of her, lips swollen and stars dancing in her eyes. Somewhere in her dazed mind, Yujin wonders whether she looks the same, breathlessly in wonder of the girl before her. 

"Happy birthday," Nako murmurs. 

"I love you too, " Yujin replies quietly.

The only person who can draw those difficult words out of her; the only one who can make her stomach do backflips and play her heart like a set of drums; the girl who contains a thousand lifetimes' worth of love in her petite body and gives it out as easily as taking a breath of air - she fits in Yujin's hands so well, too well. 

"Sorry for coming here so late at night," Nako says, playing with Yujin's hair. "I wasn't sure whether you were sleeping or not."

"I was going to," Yujin answers truthfully. She yawns, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

Catching this, Nako lies down on her, settling beneath her chin. Yujin pulls the duvet over both of them. One hand finds itself on Nako's back, drawing slow circles; the other is held tightly by the older girl, fingers interlocking. They breathe in and out as one, and Yujin closes her eyes to a quiet lullaby. 

If this is what being in love is like, Yujin wouldn't trade it for the world. 


	6. Tall People Can Touch The Sky

**Monday, 23rd September 2019, 1500hrs.**

Yujin stared at herself in the mirror, a smug grin on her face. At nineteen years old, she was the youngest pilot of Korean Air - a title she was more than willing to mention to anyone who was listening. To celebrate her first successful flight, she had decided to dye her hair blue. The dye box had promised a paler blue, but running her fingers now through the brilliantly blue strands, blue like the colour of a clear sky on a sunny day, she wondered whether it was too much.

Of course it wasn't, she told herself. She was Yujin. Nothing was too much for her. 

"Oh, Yujin. You're so attractive, and that hair? Girl, your visuals are out of this world." Yujin crooned, tossing her hair back and winking at herself in the mirror. That's right, she mused. The girls would probably go crazy over the new colour. Crazy in a good way, of course. Satisfied, she put on her pilot uniform and stepped back to admire herself again. Crisp white shirt, gold tie, black suit jacket with three gold stripes around the sleeves. Three for a co-pilot, four for a captain. She couldn't wait to get her fourth stripe. It might come in a few months, if she excelled at her current level. She will, no doubt about that; she's Ahn Yujin, after all.

Grabbing her pilot cap and bags, she headed out to work.

Already on the subway she caught the attention of a few high school girls. They tittered among each other, stealing glances at her. She sent them a flirty wink (the wink she's been practising at home for the sake of Cute GirlsTM) and they giggled, hands covering their blushing faces. Yujin considered approaching them, but she had already arrived at her stop. Ah well. Maybe next time. She doffed her cap at them and stepped out to high-pitched squeals.

She received nearly the same treatment the second she stepped into the aircrew's lounge. Over the span of two minutes her hair was messed up multiple times, what with people touching and fussing over it. As expected, some stewardesses cooed over how ridiculously pretty Yujin was, especially with that bright hair. Yujin preened, accepting the compliments - and hugs from a couple of adoring women - with open arms.

"Ahn Yujin, you look ridiculous." Yujin glanced around for the source of the gruff voice. She spotted one of her pilot seniors, sitting with legs spread and arms crossed on his chest and a disapproving frown on his face.

Giving him a simpering smile, Yujin bowed respectfully to him, purposefully ignoring his comment. "Nice to see you're looking well, senior. How was your flight?"

He huffed. "It was alright. Nothing beats a long break an ocean away from your wife."

"I'm sure you're right." Internally, Yujin rolled her eyes. If he was so keen to get away from his wife, why did he even marry her in the first place? She pitied the poor woman who was attached to him. She felt a tug on her sleeve; one of the stewardesses with long sable hair subtly gestured at an empty break room. Lips curling into a smirk, Yujin bowed again to her senior. "I hope you have a safe trip home later, sir."

She let herself be led into the break room, allowed the stewardess to pin her against the back wall. "Minju," Yujin breathed.

"Yujin." Minju's voice was sultry, her finger tracing the edge of Yujin's jaw. She's a dangerous one, Yujin knew. Known as the queen of flirting, Minju loved stealing hearts, then breaking them a few weeks later. And yet everyone kept coming back for more, because how exactly did one go about staying away from such an ethereal being? Minju pressed her body against Yujin's front. She grabbed Yujin's hands, placing them on her hips. She leaned in, lips inches away from Yujin's. "Ignore that loser. You look amazing with that new hair. Totally my type."

Yujin found herself leaning down, nearly kissing Minju before catching herself. She hurriedly pulled back and laughed weakly. "Yeah? Thanks. Uh, look. I gotta go check in, you know... Pilot stuff." She dashed out of the break room, leaving an bemused Minju behind. 

That was really too dangerous, Yujin thought. Her heart was still beating erratically, her palms all sweaty. She signed in, checked in her bags, and took a quick detour to the washroom to wash up before heading out, her trusty backpack slung over her shoulder.

Yujin made her way to her favourite restaurant in the whole airport. Despite how terrifyingly expensive it is, Yujin makes it a point to eat there before flying off every single time ever since her trainee days. Yujin grabbed a table near the front, allowing her to people-watch while she waits for her meal. The airport had always been a busy place, full of tourists and locals flying and arriving, security guards roaming the corridors and open spaces, keeping an eye out for anything shady. Salespeople tended to their stores to varying success - the souvenir and food ones always had the largest crowds, while the luxury brands were nearly empty almost all the time. Aircrew strode to their gates in packs; harried ground staff rushed to deal with delays.

A plate slid in front of her. Yujin brightened up at the sight of a hearty bibimbap with sides of barbecued meat. "Flying off today, huh?" Yujin nodded at the gentle voice and grinned up at the owner-cum-head chef of the restaurant, also known as her good friend.

"Thanks, Chaeyeon. It really smells so yummy!"

"That's because it is." Chaeyeon patted her head. "Have a safe flight later, okay? I trust you."

This was why Yujin insists on eating here pre-flight. Not only was the food amazingly delicious, each component of each dish perfectly cooked to create a delicate balance, but because of that. Because of those three words: "I trust you." Chaeyeon had been the first person to tell her that (aside from Yujin's parents) during one of the restaurant's slower days. Chaeyeon had served her with the very same bibimbap Yujin has in front of her now and two rolls of kimbap to bring on the flight, and taking Yujin's hand, had sat down to soothe a nervous Yujin. Those words had filled Yujin with confidence, and looking back on it, she was sure she wouldn't be where she was now without Chaeyeon's presence in her life, without those very Chaeyeon-like three words.

Cleaning the bowl down to the last grain of rice, Yujin said her goodbyes to Chaeyeon before heading to her boarding gate. Another bag check, another body scan. Luckily aircrew were top priority during these security checks and were allowed to cut the queue, or else Yujin would have been waiting in a very, very long line. Chucking her bag onto the conveyor belt, she stepped through the metal detector without a beep. As she waited for her bag to appear, her gaze flickered to the guard peering at an X-ray cross-section of her bag's contents on the screen.

She was small - that was the first thing that came to mind. So small she could almost be mistaken for an elementary school kid, except her body was certainly more developed and mature in the black jacket with the word 'SECURITY' emboldened on the back. It was, to Yujin's mind, truly that of a woman's, rather than a girl's. Her hair was sort of a greyish colour, and when the light hit it at the right angle she gained a halo. Yujin's bag slid out, and the security guard gave her a smile. Yujin noticed the dimples first, the accent second. She's not Korean, Yujin realised. The name tag read 'Yabuki Nako'. Ah, Japanese.

"Miss? Your bag's done, you can take it now," Nako pointed out, her brows raised at Yujin.

Flustered, Yujin grabbed her bag and started to leave. She paused. "Thanks, Nako," she called, waving awkwardly.

Nako blinked in surprise at the mention of her name, then waved back with a friendly grin. "By the way, I like your hair!" she shouted before turning back to work.

Yujin felt her heart skip a beat. Nako loved her hair. Something so simple shouldn't feel this thrilling, especially since many a girl had said the same thing, and yet when Nako said it with that sweet voice of hers those words were suddenly worth so much more. A silly smile bloomed across Yujin's face, a smile that didn't leave her face the whole flight.

* * *

**Tuesday, 1st October 2019, 0430hrs.**

A week later in the early hours of the morning, Yujin arrived back at Incheon Airport. Her eyes struggled to stay open, exhaustion reeking from every pore of her skin. No doubt her captain and the rest of the aircrew were equally as tired as her. She could see it in the way they stood at the door, fighting to stay on their feet, customer service smiles plastered on their faces as they wished welcome-homes and have-a-safe-trips to every passenger. When the last passenger disembarked, it was as if the entire plane - metal container and staff and all - heaved a collective sigh of relief. Ever polite, Yujin bowed to her seniors and crew members before stepping off the plane. Time to get her bags and head straight home.

As she stood at the conveyor belt, waiting for her luggage bags to emerge, Yujin rubbed at her eyes and yawned. That was the one thing about flying - sometimes the flight times were at the oddest hours, and while passengers could sleep after takeoff, the crew and the pilots couldn't. They still had to keep the plane and its services running, and at these kinds of hours, that was the most daunting part of the whole job. Her arms and legs felt like limp noodles. All she wanted to do was lie down on the cold floor of the airport and sleep. Her eyes closed (for just a moment, she told herself, until the bags come out) and she immediately fell asleep on her feet. Her body swayed and her elbow bumped someone, hard. Waking up, she rubbed at her throbbing elbow. "Ah, fuck."

"Sorry!" A sheepish voice quickly apologised. "You must have fallen asleep. I don't blame you, it's way too tiring to fly a plane at this kind of time."

Yujin stared down at the pretty girl, mind barely registering the uniform the girl donned as her gentle fingers brushed away the pain from Yujin's elbow. She seemed familiar, so familiar... "Nako," she murmured.

Nako glanced up at her. "Oh, blue ranger!"

"Blue ranger?"

"Your hair, it's blue. It reminded me of the blue Power Ranger," Nako explained, chuckling. Amused, sleepy and slightly out of her mind, Yujin struck the Power Ranger pose she recalled from her childhood. At the sight, Nako laughed even louder, clapping with excitement. "Yes, exactly! It suits you, the hair and everything!"

"Really?" Yujin ran her fingers through her hair. "Ah, you told me that last week as well."

"I know, I remember." Nako went on the tips of her toes and patted Yujin's cheek endearingly, like how a mother would. "You look very tired. Waiting for your stuff?"

"Yeah." Yujin pointed at a blue bag just emerging from the other side of the building. "That's mine."

"Of course it is, it's exactly the colour of your hair." Both of them waited until the bag approached. Yujin was wondering how she was going to get the strength to haul her heavy bag off the conveyor belt when Nako stepped forward and with nay a grunt effortlessly swung the giant suitcase off the belt.

"Holy shit you're a goddess."

Nako snorted and shook her head. "I'm a security guard, strength and skill is sort of a requirement. Anyway, here's your bag." She tiptoed and, reaching her hand up as high as she could, patted Yujin's head. "You should go home and rest now."

Yujin stifled a yawn behind her hand before standing to attention and saluting Nako. "Yes, ma'am. Goodnight."

Nako shoo-ed her away, grinning at Yujin's retreating back. "It's good morning, blue ranger."

* * *

**Saturday, 12th October 2019, 1003hrs.**

Yujin woke up alone in bed, hugging a pillow. Sunlight streamed through her window and bloomed on her face. Groaning, she rolled over, wiping drool from the side of her mouth. She reached for her phone and stared at its screen through slitted eyes. What time was it? Ten a.m.? Ugh, too early. She closed her eyes, willing herself to go back to sleep...

Until her phone buzzed, waking her up again. Blindly grabbing at it, she held it to her ear. "What."

"Dumbass, where are you? Aren't you sending me off today?" Yujin's eyes flew open. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Wonyoung was flying off today for some event or other, wasn't she? And Yujin was supposed to drive her there, wasn't she? Ah, shit.

"I'll be right there, hold on!" Scrambling out of bed, Yujin hurriedly washed up and changed. Twenty minutes later, she rolled up in front of Wonyoung's house, a wild grin on her face and her hair in a mess. No, she definitely did not just speed on the roads, and even if she did, who cared?

Wonyoung stared at her disapprovingly as she leaned on her luggage bag. "You were speeding, weren't you." It was less of a question and more of a very obvious statement.

"Nope." Yujin got out of her car and jogged over to haul her best friend's suitcase into the boot of her car. "Come on, let's go."

Huffing, Wonyoung took her place as shotgun. As they made their way to the airport, Wonyoung asked: "Is that Minju lady still flirting with you?"

Yujin hummed in affirmation. "To be fair though, she flirts with everyone." She glanced over at Wonyoung and smirked. "Don't be jealous."

"And why would I be jealous of you, you weirdo?" Wonyoung rolled her eyes. "I don't even know her."

"Not of me, of her! Don't you want to flirt easily with me too?"

Wonyoung wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Say that again and I won't invite you to parties any more." Yujin took that as her cue to shut up for the rest of the ride.

At the airport, Yujin used her special privileges as one of the airline's pilots to speed up Wonyoung's check-in. Now, technically, she wasn't supposed to do this, but Ahn Yujin was the youngest, cutest, prettiest pilot they had (that's what some flight attendants and ground staff had said anyway) and they would grant her leeway on these sorts of things. In turn, Wonyoung would usually offer an invite or two to one of the lavish parties people in her line of work always threw. 

"Oh, Yujin?" A surprised voice called her name. "I thought you were only flying off tomorrow."

Yujin stiffened at the voice. Kwon Eunbi, twenty-five year old Head Attendant, a stickler for the rules. Crap. Yujin lamented her luck, knowing Eunbi would give her an earful for letting Wonyoung into their staff-only lounge. Praying to all the gods, Yujin spun around to smile at the older woman and/or beg for her life. "Hi, Eunbi. Um, fancy seeing you here."

Eunbi narrowed her eyes. "I work here. And I know that tone of voice anywhere. What have you done this time, Ahn Yujin?"

"Nothing." Yujin glanced away as her palms went clammy. She felt Eunbi advancing on her and took a shaky step back.

"Hi! Are you Eunbi? I'm Wonyoung!" Wonyoung smoothly slid in front of Yujin and offered her hand to Eunbi. "I'm so sorry, I made Yujin help me check in here. I heard it's safer here, and it's the first time I'm going on a plane unattended, so..."

"Your first time?" Eunbi stared up at the awesomely tall Wonyoung as she took her hand. "I'm sorry, but... how old are you?"

"I just turned eighteen!" Eunbi gaped; Wonyoung grinned. "Because I just became an adult, I won't need to have a staff member accomany me any more, so I was hoping that if Yujin or someone could guide me through, that would be great. I'm just kind of nervous, you know?"

Nervous? Nervous, her ass. Yujin muffled a cough behind her hand and rolled her eyes. Wonyoung was sure milking this just-turned-eighteen thing. Both of them knew well enough she'd always ditch her escort to run around somewhere, to buy whatever the hell she wanted with her multiple credit cards. Wonyoung was so used to airports and flights and travelling, she could probably navigate Incheon Airport blindfolded.

But luckily for Yujin, Eunbi fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. Her suspicious expression changed into one of what could only be described as motherly care, and she patted Wonyoung's hand. "It's alright, I'll let Yujin escort you in today, okay? Next time, if you're flying alone and Yujin isn't here, just call me." She whipped out a pen and piece of scrap paper and scribbled her number on it before pressing it into Wonyoung's hand. "Safe flight, Wonyoung!"

Walking out of the lounge, Yujin guffawed in surprise. "I can't believe that actually worked."

"Right?" Wonyoung waved the slip of paper. "And now I have a pretty woman's phone number. Who's doing it like me? Nobody."

"Oh my God, Wonyoung, she's _twenty-five._"

"And?" Wonyoung shrugged. "She's hot. Mature. Me likey."

Yujin shook her head; sometimes, she really couldn't believe Wonyoung was her friend. As they walked, Yujin spotted a familiar face - or rather, a person of familiar stature - out of the corner of her eye patrolling the area. "Oh, Nako!"

Nako glanced around, looking for her. When she found Yujin, she jogged over to join them. "Hey, blue ranger! And... tall cutie?"

"Tall cutie?" Wonyoung's hand fluttered to rest on her heart. "Me? Oh, you shouldn't have. You're really cute too, uh," her gaze grazed Nako's nametag, "Nako-chan. How does someone as cute as you know someone as lame as this one over here?" Wonyoung clamped a hand on Yujin's shoulder.

"Oh, I work here as a security guard." Nako tapped her lanyard and walkie-talkie. "We just met before she had to fly a plane, and her hair caught my eye. I still think you look really good in that colour, by the way," she added, addressing Yujin.

Wonyoung gripped Yujin's shoulder so hard it was almost as if Yujin had claws digging into her flesh. Yujin winced and tried to squirm away, but to no avail. Wonyoung still had the same polite smile on her face. "I think your hair colour suits you too, Nako-chan." Wonyoung reached out and arranged stray strands of Nako's hair into place. "Actually, I think any colour would suit you, since you're just so cute."

"Really? I have thought about going blonde..."

"Wonyoung." Yujin uttered her name through gritted teeth. "You're going to be late for your flight."

Wonyoung glared at her and muttered under her breath, "Yujin, I swear, if you're going to stop me from flirting with this precious small human being-"

"No, I'm serious. You're supposed to be boarding in five minutes."

"I'm _what_?" Wonyoung glanced at her watch and gasped. "Shit!"

"Running late?" Nako asked. When Wonyoung nodded frantically, the petite woman lifted her walkie-talkie up to her mouth and gave Wonyoung a grin. "Don't worry about it. Hey, anyone who's available, can I get a buggy? There's a VIP and she's going to be late for her flight." Giving clear directions to whoever was responding, Nako glanced about until she spotted a free buggy approaching. Yujin quickly ushered Wonyoung onto the buggy.

"Hey, Yujin?" Wonyoung tugged Yujin closer to her by her collar. She leaned down and hissed into Yujin's ear, "Go buy that cute girl a meal on my behalf, you lucky punk. And I better get a rundown of exactly what you ate - with pictures - or else." Wonyoung roughly pressed a rectangular piece of plastic into Yujin's hand before grinning at Nako. "Bye, cutie!"

"No, you're the cutie!" Nako shouted to the buggy already zooming off. Shaking her head, Yujin stared at the credit card in her hand. What a strange girl, she thought. But the threat still rang her ears, loud and clear.

"Um, Nako?" Yujin ventured.

"Hm?"

"Do you want to get some lunch with me? My treat."

Nako's lips stretched into a smile, pleasantly surprised. "Sure. I never say no to a free meal."

They ended up getting lunch at Chaeyeon's restaurant. It must have been something of a shock to Chaeyeon when she saw Yujin and Nako walk in together. Yujin was sure the height difference was the most astounding factor. Gesturing at Nako to sit at whichever table she wanted, Yujin approached Chaeyeon, cracking up at the expression on Chaeyeon's face.

"Yujin... Is that your girlfriend?" Chaeyeon whispered. "She's super cute, you really got lucky."

"She's not my girlfriend, she's... an acquaintance? A security guard acquaintance whom I've met twice - third time now." Yujin looked over at where Nako was reading through the menu. "She is kinda cute though, isn't she?"

"Yujin, people don't just bring acquaintances out for expensive meals." Chaeyeon glanced between Yujin and Nako, seemingly contemplating decisions. "Tell you what. Since you brought your questionable acquaintance of major cuteness here, I'll cook something special, just for the two of you."

"For real?" Yujin peered at Nako. "I should definitely bring her here more, then I can get the chef's special often too."

Laughing, Chaeyeon nudged Yujin back towards Nako before heading back to her kitchen. Yujin slid into her seat opposite Nako's and tilted the menu down so Nako's view of her was unobstructed. "Hey, the chef - another friend of mine - said she's going to cook something special for us, so you don't have to think so much about what to eat."

"Oh, that's a relief." Nako placed the menu to one side. "There were so many choices and they all sounded so good. And your friend, you say?" Nako cocked her head to one side. "You must be very popular."

Yujin gave Nako a shit-eating grin. "Of course I am."

"Because of the hair?"

"Don't you see this charming face? I was popular before the hair. Now I am even more fabulous." Yujin leaned back in her chair. "All the girls love me."

Nako snorted. "Sure they do."

"I'm serious, they do!"

"Mhm. I believe you," Nako hummed, shifting her eyes away. 

Yujin harrumphed. Before she could get another word in, Chaeyeon came out with two full plates balanced precariously in each hand. Yujin's mouth watered at the sight of deep-fried cutlets neatly placed upon mountains of rice swimming in thick Japanese curry. At the familiar sight, Nako's eyes lit up. "Katsu curry! It smells amazing!" she shouted in Japanese, clapping her hands and bouncing in her seat.

"A special meal just for you, because you're so cute," Chaeyeon replied in Japanese. "The katsu has cheese inside too, I think you'll like it a lot."

"Cheese?" Nako's eyes boggled. Then, to Chaeyeon, "You're very fluent in Japanese, miss. And very pretty too." Yujin had never seen Chaeyeon blush so much, except for that one time Eunbi had joined Yujin for lunch and greeted the shy restauranteer.

"Thanks, Chaeyeon!" Yujin dug into her meal, sharp knife slicing the pork cutlet open to reveal the stringey melted cheese within. Her stomach growling like crazy, she quickly stuffed her face, chewing contentedly. "Oh wow, Nako, you've gotta try this! It's sooooo good," Yujin gushed through a mouthful of meat and rice.

"Nako-san, would you like to eat with me instead?" Chaeyeon offered as she glared at Yujin, mildly disgusted at her lack of food etiquette. "I wouldn't mind having lunch with someone as cute and pretty as you."

"No, it's alright." Nako patted Chaeyeon's hand. "Thank you for the offer, though. Maybe next time."

"Nako, let's have an eating contest!" Yujin mumbled, her mouth too full for her to speak properly. "Loser pays for ice-cream."

"Ice-cream, you say?" A cheeky glint appeared in Nako's eyes, a glint that Yujin failed to notice. "Deal."

Half an hour later, Yujin stared blankly at the half-finished plate in front of her as she slumped in her chair. Curry and rice were smeared on her cheeks, and she tiredly chewed at her food. How long had she been chewing this mouthful? For far too long, but her jaw was so tired. Across from her, Nako dabbed at the corners of her lips with a napkin. Her plate was completely empty. Placing the napkin down, she fluttered her eyelashes at Yujin. "Now, about that ice-cream."

A bet was a bet. "Alright," Yujin said, belching. "Ugh. Sorry. Not proper."

Giggling, Nako leaned over with another tissue and wiped at Yujin's stained face. "You eat like a starving teenage boy. Burping is the least of your problems." Yujin allowed Nako to wipe away the remnants of her messy eating habits. Watching Nako dazedly, Yujin silently agreed with Wonyoung and Chaeyeon - Nako really was cute, especially with that look of concentration on her face.

Once Yujin's face was clean, she stood up. "I'll go pay for this, hold on a mo."

Chaeyeon wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Yujin as the young pilot approached her. "Your girlfriend's really sweet," Chaeyeon said, winking.

"She's just an acquaintance. How much was the meal?" When Chaeyeon showed her the bill, Yujin sighed. She took out Wonyoung's credit card and offered it to Chaeyeon, then suddenly pulled back. Yujin stared at the card in her hand for a moment, then tucked it back into her pocket and took out her own card instead. "Here."

"Thanks, blue ranger," Nako said when they stepped out of the restaurant.

"No problem." Yujin grinned at her. "Now, ice-cream?"

* * *

**Thursday, 24th October 2019, 1230hrs.**

Yujin knew Nako was strong - like, really strong - since that time when Nako hauled her 20kg luggage bag off the conveyor belt with ease. But this was different. This... This was a fight. Or more like a four-foot-ten woman trying to break up a fight between two hulking men much taller than her.

"Knock it off!" Nako shouted as she attempted to peel one of the men off the other. For reasons unknown, these two six-foot-something men had looked at each other from across the hallway and immediately started a fight. Yujin assumed someone had called security, for when she was passing by Nako was already there, trying to squeeze herself between the two. Couldn't they send someone else? Yujin wondered. Someone taller, someone stronger, someone who looked stern and gruff and as ready to fight as these two men were. Surely there was someone better to send, someone who wasn't Nako.

Yujin was worried. Of course she was, this was her friend she was talking about. She didn't want to see her friend get injured. She especially didn't want to see Nako get injured. She considered stepping in and helping Nako, but as the two men continued to fight, she feared she would just be another hazard.

Just as Nako managed to step in between the two and pry them apart, one of the men raised his leg to kick his opponent. His aim was terrible, and Nako's stomach ended up bearing the brunt of the kick. How she didn't double over from the hit was a mystery to Yujin; she herself would have collapsed on the ground from the pain. But no, Nako just winced and pushed them further apart from each other, as far as her arms could stretch out. The other man swung his fist wildly. It collided with Nako's face, and it was so powerful that her head snapped back on her neck.

"Shit, Nako!"

Nose bleeding from the impact, Nako spared a glance at Yujin. "Call backup, for fuck's sake!"

"Stop right there!" A loud voice shouted. Yujin whipped her head around to see a group of security guards running towards them. They immediately tackled both men to the ground.

Left with nothing to hold onto for support, Nako's knees buckled under her. Yujin swooped in to catch her before she collapsed. "Holy crap, are you okay?"

Nako swiped at her bleeding nose and grimaced. "Do I _look_ okay to you?" Shifting in Yujin's arms, she let out a low groan and clutched at her stomach. "Oh, fuck, it hurts so bad. Was he on fucking steroids or something?"

"Nako, you need to go to the hospital."

"Sure, yeah. Let me just stand up-" Gritting her teeth, Nako got to her feet before being overwhelmed by pain. She collapsed back in Yujin's arms, unconscious.

"_Shit._"

* * *

**Thursday, 24th October 2019, 1810hrs.**

Yujin was dozing off in her chair, but quickly jolted upright when she noticed Nako stirring in the hospital bed. Breathing a sigh of relief, Yujin reached out to take Nako's hand, smiling at her when the petite girl opened her eyes. "Yo."

"Oh, hey." Nako turned her head to observe her surroundings. "I'm in the hospital."

"Yep."

"It's dark outside."

"Yep."

"How long was I out?" Nako struggled to sit up, and Yujin rushed to help her adjust the bed. Nako laid a hand on her stomach. "Wow, that was one heck of a kick."

"Almost six hours, I think." Yujin continued to hold Nako's hand as she watched her friend, concern written all over her face. "The doctor said you've got some internal bruising, plus a broken cheekbone, plus half your face is totally blue-black."

"That's it?" Despite herself, Nako grinned. "Nice."

"Not nice!" Yujin disagreed. "It's terrible!"

"Yeah, but at least I didn't die or anything." Nako patted Yujin's hand comfortingly. "Don't worry, I've had much worse."

Yujin frowned and pulled her hand out of Nako's grasp. "That's not good, Nako. You shouldn't be so chill with these kinds of things."

"Why are you so angry?" Nako pouted. "Don't be angry."

"I don't like hearing about you getting hurt, and I certainly do not like seeing you get hurt!"

Nako recoiled at Yujin's outburst. "I-I'm sorry," she muttered, voice small and quiet.

Sighing, Yujin plopped herself down in the visitor's chair again. "No, I'm sorry. It's not your fault, obviously, it's just a part of your job. I don't know what came over me, I just... I don't want you to get hurt."

"Okay." Nako took Yujin's hand this time, squeezing it gently. "Okay."

The subdued moment was interrupted when Nako gave a big yawn. Yujin chuckled. "Must be the meds. You should sleep."

"Ah-"

"I'll be here." Yujin didn't know why she said that, but she did. "I'll watch you sleep."

"That's creepy, blue ranger," Nako murmured, lying down, her eyes already closing. The last thing she saw before she fell asleep was Yujin, a soft smile on her face.

* * *

**Friday, 25th October 2019, 0010hrs.**

Nako woke up to a whitewashed room, lit up only by the dim glow of the half-formed moon. She glanced to her right. Yujin wasn't there, but sitting on the chair was a small object. Shifting, Nako reached out and picked it up. A quiet laugh bubbled in her as she played with the toy in her hands. Burrowing under the covers, Nako went back to sleep, holding her blue Power Ranger figurine close to her heart.

* * *

**Monday, 11th November 2019, 0900hrs.**

"Yabuki Nako, reporting for work."

"Nako!" Chaeyeon dashed towards the petite girl, wrapping her in an embrace. "You're out of the hospital!"

"Yup! A hundred percent recovered, and stronger than ever!" Nako flexed her biceps and grinned. "I missed your cooking so much. Hospital food sucks."

Chuckling, Chaeyeon ruffled Nako's hair endearingly. "What do you want to eat? I'll cook anything for you. Perhaps... cheese katsu curry?" she suggested, and grinned when Nako's eyes lit up. Nako nodded greedily, already anticipating the flavoursome goodness. She sat down at an empty table while Chaeyeon busied herself in the kitchen and watched the world pass by. Nako stared at backpackers dragging their feet while lifting a ridiculously heavy bag on their backs, at parents holding their babbling, overexcited children's hands, at aircrew striding past with their luggage bags. The handsome pilot leading the pack turned to look and smile at her. Nako smiled back, reminded of Yujin.

Nako smelled the food before she saw it. Her head whipped around to the source of the scent. Like the first time, Chaeyeon walked out with two massive plates of curry rice. She sat down across from Nako and placed the plates on the table. "One for you, one for me."

"Thank you, Chaeyeon!" Nako neatly piled meat, rice, and curry on her spoon and took a bite, savouring how the different textures played on her tongue, how the complimenting flavours satisfied her palate. "Oh, that's the _best_. Wow, can I marry you?"

"I'll think about it, but I don't think my girlfriend will like that," Chaeyeon replied, laughing. "How was it at the hospital? Really boring, huh?"

"Not really. Blue ranger came by everyday to keep me company whenever she was in Korea, which was actually really sweet of her," Nako admitted. "She made me watch the entire Harry Potter series, twice."

"Did she now?" Chaeyeon's tone was light.

"Yeah. Dolores Umbridge and her hideous pink outfit haunt my dreams now." Nako shivered.

"That's not what I meant. Yujin went to keep you company everyday. That's pretty impressive, don't you think?"

"I... I guess," Nako said, shrugging. "But isn't that very like her? She seems like the kind of person who would do that for anyone she's fond of."

"Yujin told me her best friend twisted her ankle once, and she went over to laugh," Chaeyeon deadpanned. "Trust me, her staying with you whenever she's free isn't typical Ahn Yujin behaviour."

"Well, maybe she's changed."

Chaeyeon raised a brow. "I highly doubt it." Her gaze flicked to glance at the airport patrons, and she grinned. "Oh, speaking of."

"Nako?" Nako turned and blinked in surprise. On the other side of the glass partition was Yujin in her pilot uniform, her face pressed to the glass, dimples forming on her cheeks. "Nako! You're here!" Yujin rushed into the restaurant and tackled Nako in a hug. Due to the height difference, Nako found herself suffocating in Yujin's chest, and she urgently tapped the taller girl.

"I can't breathe, blue ranger."

"Sorry!" Yujin quickly released Nako, but kept an arm slung around the smaller woman's shoulders. "Wow, isn't that katsu curry? Chaeyeon, can I get one too?"

"You can have mine, it's basically untouched. Looking at you reminds me there's someone I need to find." Chaeyeon patted both Yujin's and Nako's heads before exiting the restaurant. The two watched as she stood outside for about two seconds before catching a blurry figure who jumped right into her arms. Yujin covered Nako's eyes when Chaeyeon and Eunbi kissed.

Nako smacked her hand away and pouted. "Damn, why is everyone dating? I want a girlfriend too."

"Me too."

Nako glanced up at Yujin. "I thought you were Miss Popular."

"Miss Popular-but-for-some-reason-can't-get-a-girlfriend," Yujin corrected her. "Life sucks."

"Yeah," Nako agreed, staring at Yujin for a moment longer. "Life really does suck."

* * *

**Thursday, 21st November 2019, 1111hrs.**

Yujin didn't understand why Nako didn't have a girlfriend. Nako was literally perfect in every way. If compassion could be personified, it would come in the form of Nako. Yujin saw it in the way she gently held a crying child's hand at the lost-and-found counter. Yujin saw it in the way she guided an elderly woman with failing eyesight right to the door of her plane. Yujin saw it in the way Nako spoke to each and every one of the people who spoke to her, asked for directions, asked for help in some shape or form. She spoke with patience, with kindness, with understanding.

And with that compassion came with a bravery like no other.

* * *

**Tuesday, 3rd December 2019, 1750hrs.**

It actually happened. The unbelievable, the unwanted, the unimaginable.

It started with an unattended bag. A quiet tick-tick-tick. A seven-year-old girl saw it first, and called her parents over. They immediately swept her up and raced to the nearest security guard. A passer-by caught wind of it. Word started to spread.

Now Nako stood over the bag, frantically calling the bomb unit as the rest of the airport was in a hubbub. The other security guards were tasked with ushering people away from the bomb, out of the building. The bomb unit said they were rushing over, but the display was starting to flash a countdown in red. Nako had to isolate it, and isolate it quick. Barking instructions to her fellow guards, she bundled the bomb up and rushed into the nearby ladies' bathroom. She hid herself in the cornermost stall, holding onto the beeping object as she waited for the bomb unit.

Her heart beat erratically in her chest. She could feel the blood rushing into her head.

God, please. I don't want to die today. I can't leave, not yet.

God, please. I can't leave her now.

* * *

**Saturday, 7th December 2019, 1000hrs.**

"Where is she? Where is Nako?" A frantic voice pierced through the crowd. At the sound of her name, Nako glanced up. A strong pair of arms plucked her from the ground and wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, thank God. Oh, Nako, thank God you're alive."

Nako patted the crown of blue hair. "So you heard."

Yujin placed Nako back on the ground and crouched down. "I was so worried. I was in Australia, I heard it on the news, and-" Yujin's breath caught in her throat as tears started to roll down. "-And I thought-"

"Don't think." Nako cupped Yujin's face in her hands, wiping her tears away with her thumbs. "Just know. Know that I'm here, and alive, and unhurt."

"Thank you," Yujin hiccuped, crying. "Thank you, Nako, thank you."

* * *

**Friday, 20th December 2019, 1935hrs.**

Yujin was going to be away for the whole of Christmas week. She had promised her family that yes, she was going to go back and spend time with them, and yes, she did buy presents for everyone, including her baby cousin who was just born a few weeks ago. Not like she thought an infant could understand the concept of gift-giving, nor the monetary loss that came with this practice, but hey. It was Christmas.

So here she was, giving her first round of presents away to her colleagues and friends. She handed out what she hoped were practical mop slippers to Eunbi, a new apron to Chaeyeon, and even a makeup pouch to Minju - and her newly attained girlfriend, a Kim Chaewon who did who-knows-what, but Minju was very happy with her.

That just left Nako. Where was she, anyway? See, the thing about security guards were that they could be _anywhere_, and Yujin was not going to scour the entire airport to find a tiny human being. Luckily for her, she found Nako fifteen minutes in, stationed at one of the boarding gates.

"Hey, Nako, Merry Christmas!" Yujin exclaimed, beaming.

"It's the 20th of December, did you get your dates mixed up?"

"No, but I'm going home for the whole of next week. So I'm going to give you this!" Yujin brandished a paper bag at Nako, who took it with an apprehensive look on her face. "Don't make that face, I swear it's not a prank."

"Right." Nako reached in and took out a small box with a ribbon tied around it. She shook it, listening for a sound, but there was nothing. She narrowed her eyes at Yujin. "Say, this isn't going to be one of those boxes that just has a bunch of shredded papier-mache and a note, is it?"

"That's a good idea, but no, it's not a prank." Yujin fidgeted in place. "Hurry up and open it already."

"Okay, okay." Nako slowly opened the box. Much to Yujin's delight, Nako gasped, her eyes widening with delight. With two fingers she took out a silver necklace with a small penguin charm delicately carved.

"And? And?"

"It's so pretty," Nako murmured, raising it to the light to get a better look.

"Here, give it to me. I'll put it on you now." Yujin took the necklace from Nako and spun her around. She dangled the necklace in front of Nako before lowering it onto the petite girl's neck. As she struggled with the clasp, she added, "I saw them, the penguins, in Australia? And they were so cute and I thought of you, because you're cute too. So I got you this necklace. It's hand-crafted and everything."

Once the clasp was fastened, Nako yanked Yujin down by the collar and pecked her on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered into Yujin's ear that was rapidly turning red. "And Merry Christmas."

* * *

**Saturday, 31th December 2019, 2230hrs.**

Yujin was definitely being stood up right now, wasn't she? She glanced at her watch. They were supposed to meet 4 hours ago. Yep, definitely stood up. Yujin sighed and ran her fingers through her fading blue hair in frustration. And she went to all this trouble of dressing up and getting her hair and make-up done and everything. To make it worse, it had started to rain, and she had forgotten to bring an umbrella. So now she was standing in the rain in front of some random cafe, shivering in the cold. And on New Year's Eve, too. Just fucking great.

"Blue ranger?" A hesitant voice called. Yujin's head shot up. In front of her, standing under an umbrella, was none other than one Yabuki Nako. It took Yujin a minute or two to process the image of Nako out of her security uniform. Tonight she wore a loose hoodie and a skirt, a bemused expression on her face. Nako jogged over to Yujin, sneakers splashing in puddles. She quickly lifted the umbrella so it was covering both of them. "What's wrong, blue ranger?"

"I got stood up."

"Oh no." Nako patted Yujin's shoulder in consolation. "Who was it? I'll go fight them."

"No need," Yujin muttered sadly. Her shoulders sagged, bogged down by rainwater and regret. "I just wanna go home."

"Okay." Nako took Yujin's hand. Nako's hand was warm, Yujin realised, warm and soothing. She held it tight. "Where do you live? Let's go."

They made their way back to Yujin's place in the pouring rain, hands never separating. The umbrella was too small to properly cover both women, and Nako ended up being rained on. It didn't really matter, though. At least Yujin was covered too.

Once they arrived at Yujin's apartment, Yujin excused herself to change into some dry clothes. Stepping into the shower, she willed the water to wash away her frustrations at finding a decent girl who didn't want to just have sex or would at least show up to their second date. Covering her face, she screamed into her hands. She felt much better after that, and dried her hair before walking back out to Nako. She found the petite girl still standing by the door, the right half of her clothes dotted with raindrops. "You wanna get changed?" Yujin offered.

"I was just going to make sure that you were feeling better, then head back home."

"Are you sure?" Yujin peeked out of her window. "It's storming like crazy outside now though, you should probably stay the night."

Nako followed her gaze to where trees outside were being whipped back and forth by powerful gales. "Oh, fair enough then. Could I borrow a shirt?"

"Sure."

When Nako walked out of the bathroom, Yujin wanted to laugh. Nako looked tiny in Yujin's shirt, so tiny that Yujin wanted to hold her in her arms and cuddle her to sleep. Now that Nako was out of her hoodie, Yujin also noted the necklace around her neck, the one with the penguin charm. Yujin's gift. Flowers bloomed in Yujin's heart.

It could have been that she was craving for touch, or the fact that she was just stood up, but Yujin found herself tugging Nako into bed. "Come sleep with me."

"Wait, what?" Nako sputtered, resisting Yujin's attempts.

"Sleep with me. It's cold, it's raining, and I kind of want to just cuddle with you right now." The words left Yujin's mouth before she could stop them. "Please?"

Nako gazed at the loneliness in Yujin's eyes. She could feel her heart breaking, and all she wanted to do was remove some of that empty sadness, somehow. "Alright." She clambered into Yujin's bed and pulled the blanket over them, feeling Yujin's arms wrap around her, pulling her closer.

"Thank you," Yujin whispered before succumbing to sleep.

Nako laid in bed there, listening to Yujin's breathing slow and even out as she fell asleep. Nako listened to the raindrops drum against the windowpane, to the leaves of trees noisily rustle outside as the two of them held each other in the warmth of a single bed on New Year's Eve. "You're welcome, blue ranger."

* * *

**Sunday, 1st January 2020, 0500hrs.**

Yujin woke up with her head nestled in Nako's bosom. Over the night they had moved in their sleep, changing positions until Nako had her hands resting on Yujin's head, and Yujin with her arm draped across Nako's hips. Slowly moving so as to not wake Nako up, Yujin shifted up until she was looking at Nako's sleeping face. She looked so serene, like an angel, her chest rising and falling as she slept. Yujin tucked loose hair behind Nako's ear with a finger, then trailed down to graze her cheek and the bridge of Nako's nose, to trace the outline of her lips.

Yujin understood in that moment that Nako was more than just cute, like what everyone always said. She was cute, yes, but she was so beautiful too. She was a powerful woman in the day, strong and fearless, but now with her eyes closed and her face lax Nako was the embodiment of purity and innocence. Yujin's heart sighed at the sight.

The birds started to chirrup outside. Nako opened her eyes. She smiled at Yujin, cupping the pilot's face with a hand. "Good morning."

"Hey," Yujin murmured. "Is it strange that I want to kiss you right now?"

"Not at all," Nako breathed. "Why don't you do just that."

Yujin leaned foward and pressed her lips against Nako's. Nako's lips were soft, soft like the pillows they were lying on. As they kissed they drew closer together, and their bodies melded together. Nako tangled her fingers in Yujin's hair. Yujin's hand rested on the hem of Nako's shirt where it brushed against Nako's thigh. When they parted, Yujin could see her reflection in Nako's eyes, glazed over, and she chuckled quietly. Did she look like that too, starry-eyed, in love?

"This isn't some dream that we'll wake up from, is it?" Yujin asked in wonderment, one hand fingering the necklace around Nako's neck.

"I hope not," Nako replied. She fit herself to Yujin's front, curling up, clutching at Yujin's shirt. "Go to sleep, and we'll wake up in a bit."

"Mmkay."

"Oh, by the way."

"Hm?"

A pair of lips gently brushed Yujin's. "Happy New Year, Ahn Yujin."


	7. Tall People, Smol People

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year, everyone!

Nako stares up at the night sky as she sits on her balcony, knees hugged to her chest. Layers and layers of blankets and hoodies are piled upon her as she breathes winter air, a portable heater keeping her company through the night. Fukuoka is warmer than Seoul, she thinks, at least in terms of the weather. While Seoul is dropping into the negatives, freezing her to the core, it's at least a bit more comfortable here in the country she calls home.

But in terms of people... Well, this past decade she's never been luckier. Growing up among a group of girls and women who support and love her to bits, performing her heart out to hundreds and thousands of fans, and finding her soulmate in a woman who has blossomed from a girl, growing up together and sharing secrets and slowly but surely becoming known as the two aces of their generation - Tanaka Miku will never let her go.

Of course, the most recent years have been the most hectic. So much has happened, from moving to Seoul, fighting through tough times in a merciless survival competition to debuting again in a new girl group in unfamiliar territory, to becoming one of the most popular groups in the world. Everyday since then she's been so busy with practice and photoshoots and concerts and language classes that she's just totally forgotten how to breath until-

It happened.

Suddenly all their schedules were cancelled. Rumours, baseless or not, started to spread. And she and eleven other girls - her family - were left in limbo. No one knew what was going to happen. Depression and anxiety and unanswered questions and yet...

Life went on. They slowly started to rebuild themselves. Now that there was time to actually take a breather, they did. Food could finally be enjoyed. Eyes could finally be closed for at least eight straight hours. Smiles started to bloom again.

If Nako was to take a good look around, she would have definitely agreed that this was exactly what they had been needing for a while now. A good break. Because she knew, they all knew, their fans would always be waiting for them to return. It's more apparent in real life now, if the warm greetings at the airport (warm is an understatement, lovingly loud is more accurate) were anything to go by.

Somehow she had missed it, the cacophonous clicking of cameras, the flashing lights and attention-grabbing shouts and all their fans and fan-masters. This time, even the reporters were waving at her, wishing her a friendly welcome back.

It also didn't hurt that her HKT members were all huddled around in the airport in what she supposes must have been their most stealthy disguises, waiting for her to land in Japan. The ride back to Fukuoka was nostalgic, her original family talking over each other as they fought for her attention until they all eventually fell asleep.

(She fell asleep too, comfortable in the warmth of home.)

Now she swipes at her runny nose as she recalls fond memories. She wonders what the Korean members of her group are doing in the dorms now. Have they gone back to their respective houses, spending time with their parents like her and Sakura and Hitomi? She wonders whether Yuri has gone back to Busan, wonders whether Yena has bugged her until the younger girl finally relents to introduce Yena to her parents.

She wonders whether Eunbi is feeding Hyewon, whether Chaeyeon is calling Sakura to herald in the New Year together. Are Chaewon and Minjoo cuddled together somewhere, with Minjoo resting on her shoulder as they send silly pictures of themselves to Hitomi?

Are Yujin and Wonyoung sleeping?

Nako picks up her phone and considers calling them. Kids need their sleep to grow, according to Eunbi, but she thinks they've done enough growing to last a lifetime. Besides, knowing them, they'll probably be fighting to keep themselves awake to see fireworks heralding in the new year, or celebrating with friends and family. If they were still at the dorms, Yujin might be playing games or hanging out with Hyewon, while Wonyoung would no doubt be pampered silly by Eunbi.

Nako puts her phone down again and sighs. Her breath turns to mist. She closes her eyes and rests her head on her knees, hugging them close. Her long hair drapes past her scarf and shoulders, brushing the wooden floor. She shouldn't be sitting out in the cold, but she quite likes being outside by herself sometimes.

A lone girl against the world.

She hears a gentle tap on the glass door. It's probably her mother, she thinks, telling her to go back into their warm house. She turns around, ready to ask for a few minutes more.

And she meets two pairs of eyes, brilliant like stars in the midnight sky. Fighting back goofy grins, shoulders slightly slouched as they peer through the thick glass. And they stare and stare and stare at each other until they can take it no more and the door slams open.

Nako is swept up by two pairs of arms, shouts and laughs echoing in her ears. Messy brown hair tangle in hers, lips pressing on cheeks and fingers and lips. When she is placed on the ground again, her legs nearly collapse under her. She has to cling on to the balcony railing as she raises a shaky hand to cover her foolishly grinning mouth because-

What in the world is Ahn Yujin and Jang Wonyoung doing here, miles away from Seoul?

Yujin and Wonyoung settle themselves down on the balcony and pat the space between them. Yujin stretches her hand out to Nako and pulls the petite woman down. Wonyoung flicks a large blanket and drapes it over all three of them, and together she and Yujin huddle together to keep Nako warm.

"When?" is the first word Nako says when she finds her tongue.

"This morning," Wonyoung divulges, "we took the plane after yours left."

"It was my idea!" Yujin announces, puffing out her chest.

"Yeah, but who had to buy the tickets?" Wonyoung asked, sniffing. "You child, you didn't even understand the instructions on the website."

Yujin narrows her eyes at Wonyoung. "Don't try to act smart. Eunbi bought the tickets for us."

Nako chuckles and places her icy fingers on the girls' hands. "And why did you make Eunbi buy plane tickets for you two? You should be celebrating New Year with your family, you know."

Yujin and Wonyoung immediately turn to her, confusion and apprehension apparent on their faces. "_You're_ our family," they say, words laced with sincerity.

Nako feels her eyes starting to water. She swipes at them with the back of her hand and laughs. "You know that's not what I mean."

"I know, but I'll be so lonely without you, though," Yujin mumbles, holding Nako closer, nearly pulling the girl into her lap if it wasn't for Wonyoung's firm grip on Nako's waist.

"We don't want you to be alone on New Year's either," Wonyoung adds. "You're always assuring us that you're fine, but we're here for you. We'll always be here for you." Saying that, Wonyoung leans in and plants a kiss on the crown of Nako's head. Not wanting to be beaten, Yujin quickly grabs Nako's hand and brushes warm lips across her cold fingers.

Blessed. Nako is blessed. Her gratitude and love for the two girls nurture a merry fire in her heart, burns her skin and sets her alight. With reddened cheeks she gets to her knees and pecks Wonyoung on the lips, then turns around to pull Yujin into a heart-fluttering kiss. Blushing furiously, she curls back up under the blanket. "I know," she whispers.

Somewhere in the distance, a clock chimes. A sharp whistle sets off a spark that explodes into colourful fireworks in the ink-filled sky. Under the bright lights, Nako says, says to the two people in her world who had flown here to celebrate the New Year with her, two girls who would do anything to keep her happy and safe, two members who always makes it known that she will always have a place to return to in an unfamiliar country, two women who have captured her hearts since the very beginning and forevermore:

"Happy New Year, and I love you." 


End file.
